Photo by Diane Sobolewski
Various members of the Connecticut Critics Circle have selected their favorite productions from the past year - their individual lists follow. If you want to read full reviews of their picks, check out “Current Reviews” and “Archived Reviews” at http://www.ctcritics.org/.
Of course, “best” is a relative term, often dictated, to a certain extent, by personal proclivities and, of course, what productions the critics got to see. However, there seems to be some agreement here. Goodspeed’s “The Most Happy Fella” made just about everyone’s list, as did Long Wharf’s “Clybourne Park.” After that? Well, I guess that’s why there’s chocolate, vanilla and strawberry ice cream (to name just three of a multitude of flavors).
If you read the reviews of these productions, which are archived on the Connecticut Critics Circle website, you will see that what touches one critic does not move another, what irritates one intrigues another, and the reviews, by and large, explain the variances.
There are, of course, certain standards that most critics will acknowledge, but after that, well, it all depends…it’s not a science, and as much as artistic directors, directors or actors might bridle (or preen) at what they read about a play or musical they have been intimately involved with, it is, in the end, an educated opinion written to guide the reader in choosing how to spend his or her time at the theater. There will always be a certain benign friction between artist and critic and that is as it should be.
Geary Danihy
About "Master Class" -- Bringing this larger-then-life woman to life is a challenge, but MTC has been fortunate enough to cast Irene Glezos in the role, and she is...¦well, spectacular. From the moment she walks onto the stage clutching her handbag she owns the audience, and she never lets go. -- Geary Danihy
Master Class (Music Theatre of CT)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Playhouse on Park)
Fences (Long Wharf)
The Most Happy Fella (Goodspeed)
The Underpants (Long Wharf)
Time Stands Still (TheaterWorks)
Clybourne Park (Long Wharf)
Stones in his Pocket (Yale Rep)
Abundance (Hartford Stage
Rosalind Friedman
Jared McNeill in 'Fences.' Photo by T. Charles Erickson
About "Fences" -- I have seen the play in many incarnations, but it is so rich in language, character and plot, each time I discover new wonderful things about it. -- Rosalind Friedman
Becoming Dr. Ruth (TheaterWorks)
Fences (Long Wharf)
Loot (Westport Playhouse)
The Most Happy Fella (Goodspeed)
Bonnie Goldberg
Photo by Joan Marcus
About "Stones in His Pockets" -- Euan Morton's Charlie and Fred Arsenault's Jake are versatile with a capital V and talented with a capital T, as they play the whole village of County Kerry, Ireland, from the crotchety, whiskey loving gent to the impossible to please, dictatorial director and everyone in between. -- Bonnie Goldberg
Stones in His Pockets (Yale Rep)
Hairspray (CT Rep)
Clybourne Park (Long Wharf)
The Drowsy Chaperone (CT Rep)
Twelfth Night (Hartford Stage)
Becoming Dr. Ruth (TheaterWorks)
The Music Man (CT Rep)
Mrs. Mannerly (TheaterWorks)
Master Class (Music Theatre of CT)
Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Yale Rep)
The Hound of the Baskervilles (Playhouse on Park)
Fences (Long Wharf)
Tom Holehan
in 'Abundance.' Photo: T. Charles Erickson
About "Abundance" -- [Playwirght] Henley is an acquired taste to be sure, but I admire her adventurous writing spirit and in Bess and Macon she has created two wildly different and distinctly individual characters for a pair of talented actresses to bring to life. At Hartford Stage you get that and more. Vukovic’s transformation from mousy housewife to bestselling author (yes, you read that right!) is great fun to witness and Withers is a powerhouse of raw emotion who takes charge of the situation with her very first entrance. The utter joy and fascination of watching the women then reverse roles and take on each character’s strengths and weaknesses cannot be underestimated. -- Tom Holehan
Abundance (Hartford Stage)
Becoming Dr. Ruth (TheaterWorks)
Clybourne Park (Long Wharf)
The Dining Room (Westport Playhouse)
Dreamgirls (Ivoryton Playhouse)
Fences (Long Wharf)
Hello, Dolly! (Goodspeed)
Loot (Westport Playhouse)
Macbeth (Hartford Stage)
The Most Happy Fella (Goodspeed)
Stones in His Pockets (Yale Rep
Time Stands Still (TheaterWorks)
Frank Rizzo
Socarides, Keira Naughton, and Heidi Armbruster in A. R. Gurney’s
“The Dining Room.” Photo by Carol Rosegg
About "The Dining Room" -- Much more than "eating habits of a vanishing culture," Gurney's journey into a piece of American past rates four stars. -- Frank Rizzo
From Broadway with Love: The Concert for Sandy Hook (Palace/Waterbury)
The Most Happy Fella (Goodspeed)
The Dining Room (Westport Playhouse)
American Idiot (Bushnell)
Time Stands Still (TheaterWorks)
Kiss Me Kate, concert (Yale)
Accidental Death of an Anarchist (Yale Rep)
Cabaret (Playhouse on Park)
Macbeth (Hartford Stage)
Freewheelers (Broken Umbrella Company/International Festival of Arts & Ideas)
David Rosenberg
in 'Clybourne Park.' Photo by T. Charles Erickson
About "Clybourne Park"-- Norris’ play is not a simplistic table-turner. Rather, the author delves into the brutality underlying our polite world of lawyers, real estate agents and contracts. Throw in tribal, territorial and historical references and the play becomes rich with subtleties, while also rich with laughs. -- David Rosenberg
As You Like It (Shakespeare on the Sound)
Becoming Dr. Ruth (TheaterWorks)
Clybourne Park (Long Wharf)
The Dining Room (Westport Playhouse)
Fences (Long Wharf)
Freud's Last Session (Square One Theatre Company)
Loot (Westport Playhouse)
Master Class (Music Theatre of CT)
The Most Happy Fella (Goodspeed)
Karen Isaacs
Photo by Lanny Nagler.
About "Time Stands Still" -- Time Stands Still is one of those riveting plays that you keep thinking about and finding new ways of looking at. The intimate stage at TheaterWorks that puts the audience closer to the actors makes it even more compelling. This is a play you should see. -- Karen Isaacs
Twelfth Night (Hartford Stage)
Macbeth (Hartford Stage)
Time Stands Still (TheaterWorks)
Almost, Maine (TheaterWorks)
Loot (Westport Playhouse)
Room Service (Westport Playhouse)
The Year of 13 Moons (Yale Rep)
Hello, Dolly! (Goodspeed)
The Most Happy Fella (Goodspeed)
Immigrant (Seven Angels)
A Christmas Story (Bushnell)
Billy Elliot (Bushnell)
The Drowsy Chaperone (CT Rep)
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